Department of Ophthalmology, Shangyu People's Hospital of Shaoxing, Shaoxing, Zhejiang 312300, China.
Department of Ophthalmology, Yongkang First People's Hospital, Yongkang, Zhejiang 321300, China.
Comput Math Methods Med. 2022 Jul 11;2022:5654120. doi: 10.1155/2022/5654120. eCollection 2022.
Cassiae semen (CS) is one of the most well-known herbs used in the treatment of cataracts in China. However, the potential mechanisms of its anticataract effects have not been fully explored. In this study, network pharmacology was used to investigate the potential mechanism underlying the actions of CS against cataracts, and molecular docking was performed to analyze the binding activity of proteins and compounds. qPCR was performed to detect the mRNA level of genes, and the cell apoptotic rate was measured using flow cytometry. We identified 13 active compounds from CS and 105 targets, as well as 238 cataract-related targets. PPI networks were constructed, and fifty key targets were obtained. These key targets were enriched in the regulation of transcription, apoptotic process, and signal transduction pathways. Molecular docking demonstrated that the compounds of CS exhibited good affinity to some critical targets. Furthermore, CS prevented the apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells induced by UVB lights by decreasing the gene expression of CASP3, ESR1, and TP53 and increasing the CRYAB gene expression. The present study attempted to explain the mechanisms for the effects of CS in the prevention and treatment of cataracts and provided an effective strategy to investigate active ingredients from natural medicines. Further studies are required to verify these findings via and experiments.
决明子（CS）是中国治疗白内障最常用的草药之一。然而，其抗白内障作用的潜在机制尚未得到充分探索。在这项研究中，采用网络药理学方法研究 CS 治疗白内障的潜在作用机制，并进行分子对接分析蛋白质和化合物的结合活性。qPCR 检测基因的 mRNA 水平，流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡率。我们从 CS 中鉴定出 13 种活性化合物和 105 个靶点，以及 238 个白内障相关靶点。构建 PPI 网络，获得 50 个关键靶点。这些关键靶点富集在转录调控、凋亡过程和信号转导途径中。分子对接表明 CS 的化合物与一些关键靶点具有良好的亲和力。此外，CS 通过降低 CASP3、ESR1 和 TP53 的基因表达，增加 CRYAB 基因表达，抑制 UVB 诱导的人晶状体上皮细胞凋亡。本研究试图解释 CS 预防和治疗白内障的作用机制，并为研究天然药物的活性成分提供了一种有效的策略。需要进一步的实验来验证这些发现。
